Recommendations by Fr. Apostolos (Kevin) Hill. Fr. Hill, a member of the Liturgica.com Advisory Board , is well-versed in Byzantine Chant. He is Proestamenos at Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Denver, and has served as a chanter in various parishes over the past twenty years, as well as teaching Byzantine chant. His recordings of Byzantine chant ("Gates of Repentance" "Hymns of Paradise" and "Cycles of Grace") are considered among the best examples available of Byzantine chant in English.

These selections provide a broad overview of the newest and most popular Byzantine Music releases, ideally suited to new devotees who are English-speaking and excited to begin exploring the vast repertoire of Byzantine hymnology. These selections provide a broad cross-section of Byzantine chant, covering weekly services and major feasts, all rendered in accessible forms.

Byzantine Music In The New World — Vassili Hadjinicolaou
This recording immerses the listener in the ethos and majesty of Byzantine chant in English with a comprehensive selection of hymns, troparia and kontakia, while still true to its historical musical roots.

Gates of Repentance — Fr. Apostolos Hill
This selection begins to develop the Byzantine tones in English beyond their most basic renderings, especially with regard to phrasing, and introduces the hymns from the season of Great Lent and into the first part of Holy Week.

Paraklesis; Eikona — Eikona
The beautiful poetry of this supplicatory canon to the Virgin embraces the listener and weaves a calming tapestry of sound, in this recording of the complete service in English.

Thy Passion — Boston Byzantine Choir
A recording in English from a choir firmly grounded in the Antiochian (Arabic Orthodox) Byzantine chant tradition with nine of the nineteen tracks from the Arab chant genre and the rest arrangements from Holy Transfiguration Monastery.

These intermediate recommendations expand the range of offerings from English-only to Greek and Arabic, include major church and monastic choirs, and feature some instructional materials as well as some of the favorite hymnology of the Orthodox Church. This is a wealth of material in only four offerings that will provide hours of listening and learning enjoyment.

Divine Liturgy of the Holy Orthodox Church of Antioch — Mt. Lebanon Choir
An introduction to the big sound of a Byzantine Choir in English, including all the hymns of the liturgy sung to melodies common in the Arab Orthodox Churches, performed superbly, with delicacy and conviction.

Byzantine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom — L. Angelopoulos & the Greek Byzantine Choir
A classic recording in Greek of the major hymns of the Liturgy, from one of the top extant Byzantine choirs under Lycorgos Angelopoulos; the power, beauty, and reverence of Byzantine music is clearly conveyed in this extraordinary recording.

Byzantine Prosomia — Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Both an instructional CD and a joy to listen to, this CD presents the original melody of each Prosomion, chanted clearly and simply in English, followed by a second example, some of which are taken from English services to Saints not in the original Greek Menaia.

Agni Partheni — Monks of Simonopetra Monastery
This selection opens up the original language to the listener with a much-beloved hymn written by St. Nectarios, and offers an introduction to an Athonite form of Byzantine chant.

These advanced selections delve more deeply into the tradition of Byzantine chant and include authentic chant forms in Greek and English, ranging from original medieval compositions to contemporary parish forms. More familiar hymnology from the Divine Liturgy is mixed with some less well-known services to the saints. This is perhaps the most "listenable" of all the recommended collections, and lends itself to contemplation and prayer as readily as instruction.

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Mode 1 — Romeiko Ensemble
Fast becoming recognized as probably the best single recording of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, based on medieval manuscripts and performed by one of the top choirs: the sound is wondrous, and the performance is both devotional and tight.

Service of the Supplication Canon to St Nektarios of Pentapolis — Byzantine Choir of Odigitria
An English recording remarkable for its traditional and authentic sound that delivers the feeling of being a monastery on the saints day for St. Nektarios, and which includes both the read portions and the sung portions of the service.

Music of Byzantium — Cappella Romana
A recording offering a cross section of classic medieval Byzantine chant from original manuscripts sung by one of the top performing ensembles in America, with a special emphasis on two momentous compositions by Chrysaphes and Dufay lamenting the fall of Constantinople.

Liturgica.com presents an experience and a comprehensive understanding of the development of liturgical worship and music in the Judeo-Christian traditions. Liturgical music and books can be purchased from the Liturgica Web Store. Books and religious music are available in a wide variety of categories, including Byzantine chant, Gregorian chant, Old Roman chant, Ambrosian chant, Gallican chant, Mozarabic chant, Celtic chant, Early Christianity and Christian worship, Jewish worship, the Eastern Orthodox Church and worship, and the Roman Catholic Church.